Well, I've got to say I'm pretty happy tonight. I am the proud owner of my first two pairs of female footwear. At last! The main problem is that I have large feet. These are diametrically opposed to the size of my spare cash. I also have wide feet. So I don't want to buy online, I want to go into a shop and try them on first.
[Obviously, with apologies to our overseas friends, my thread is UK based].
I drove down to Exeter to my nearest Long Tall Sally shop. A 120 mile round trip but, hey, I scented shoes... I was disappointed with their selection. Two or three choices at most. But well made and reasonably priced: £18 - £35. To be fair, chatting to the sales assistants, LTS has only started to introduce their own line of shoes this season - so worth keeping an eye on. The assistants, btw, were excellent, friendly and helpfull.
And I finally found the answer to something that's been bugging me for some time. How do my clunking great male size 11's equate to female sizing? Is there any difference? Apparently there is. They equate to a female size 10. So, clearly, female sizes are one below males. Worth knowing. That plus the fact I need extra wide fitting. LTS don't do that but the girls working there didn't hesitate. They recommended a rival shop, Evans, as having a good range of larger sizes in a wider fit. Bless them, happy to lose a potential sale to meet my needs. That's what I call service!
Naturally, I was out of there faster than you can imagine. Not only did I scent shoes, I scented victory.
And, for a clothing chain, Evans had a really good range of footwear in a wide variety of styles. A good 90% went up to size 10 and an equal percentage were EEE fitting. Heaven! Did I have a happy hour in there...
Like LTS, the sales staff were friendly, accommodating and just plain great. Even when - I have fairly severe emphysema - in all the excitement I forgot to breathe! Well, I was surrounded by a growing mountain of shoes...
My final decisions were a mary jane type shoe and a pair of ankle boots. Winters sorted. £30 each and, to my mind, a bargain. I'd budgeted up to £60 for a single pair. I would point out, obviously, the bigger the shop the bigger the choices. An Evans in a small town probably wouldn't have anywhere near the range. But if you're in striking distance of a city, well worth the excursion.
On the basis of my Exeter experience, I have no hesitation in declaring both Long Tall Sally and Evans as being very TG friendly places to shop.
On a personal note, I'd like to point out that I enjoy the full tactile experience of shopping. Online just doesn't do it for me.
And, finally, I can destine to the bin my very last vestige of male attire. The shoe. Now that's something worth celebrating

Congratulations Rae, I know what a hassle it is to find larger size shoes when you want to try them on versus order off the internet. So often it comes up what is my size in a woman's shoe. There are several conversion charts available online and here is one of them.



As you see, Rae had stated a UK men's 11 equaled a UK women's 10, but on this chart it only shows a half size difference. Once again this is why it really helps to try on shoes whenever possible. Even different manufacturers will very with sizing and I have found on some websites with shoe reviews, even the sizing accuracy is reviewed.

One other note, there is a big difference in UK and US sizes. As Rae stated, an equal woman's size in the UK is smaller, whereas in the US, a men's 10 1/2 equals a women's 12. So use caution when ordering shoes online.

Hugs,
Marsha

Oh, Rae, there is nothing like owning that first pair of shoes! You will probably never forget them.

Hiya Rae, Evans is a brilliant shop. I used to be 10s or 11s and I now find I am an 8 or 9. Another shop you could check out is Barrats as they do all styles up to size 9. Like you, I prefer to try on as I have found to my expense that the size should only be used as a guide and its the cut of the garmet that makes all the difference. Happy shopping!!! oh, you better make lots of free floor space in your wardrobe! lol

Love
Penny

Rae

Congratulations on finding a source for shoes. I find I get pleasure from finding a nice fitting pair of shoes.

Jeri

Rae, I'm with you on not buying online, apart from wondering about the fit, I like shopping so would never buy shoes online, it detracts from the experience.

As Marsha pointed out, the sizes can vary considerably, I have two different sizes of shoes simply because of the difference in manufacturers, the same thing happens with clothing so it's always better to try things on first.

Nikki

Hey Rae, good to hear that you finally got your first pair of shoes and I know for sure how that feels since my first pair was four inch black stilettos that are sandals heels, and I think they look great still even though they are several months old.

With Love,
Ashley

hello Rae,

a belated but enthusiastic 'thank you' for the nod towards Evans - I visited my local branch, and they are indeed every bit as helpful as you related. Shoes have always been a problem for me, and it's so nice to finally have a choice of styles in my size

Very much appreciated!

Hugs,

Judith